Manufactures of concrete pipe, tile, man hole sections, and the like are required by ASTM International (ASTM) to perform a number of tests on their products to insure the products meet the stringent safety and reliability demands of the ASTM standards. One of these tests is the “External Load Crushing Test by the Three-Edge Bearing Test Method,” found in ASTM C 497 (the “Crush Test”).
The Crush Test applies an external load to the specimen and measures the point at which it cracks. A specimen is supported on a pair of lower bearings and a load is applied through an upper bearing. The prior art is replete with machines designed specifically for the Crush Test. Most of which require the specimen to be placed on a support frame then manually cajoled into position on top of the lower bearing and underneath the upper bearing. The task is arduous and time consuming.